An earthquake measuring Mw 6.8 occurred at 00.54 Italian time on October 26, 2018, off the Western coast of the Peloponnese at a depth of 10 km.
Following the analysis of the seismic parameters, after 8 minutes, the Tsunami Alert Center of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology communicated to the Civil Protection Department an orange level tsunami alert (advisory) for the Puglia and Calabria regions, which corresponds to an expected wave of less than one meter on land and less than half a meter offshore. The alert was also sent to the institutions of reference in the Mediterranean countries. A red alert (watch) was issued for the Greek coasts closest to the epicenter.
figure - Map with epicenter of the earthquake (red star), times of arrival on the coasts and tide gauge alert levels (triangles colored in red)
The orange alert was immediately issued by the Civil Protection Department, which coordinates the national warning system for earthquakes generated by earthquakes (SiAM), because the 6.8 magnitude earthquake occurred at a distance greater than 100 km from the Italian coast . This means that a relatively small, but potentially dangerous phenomenon for those who were in ports or on the beaches was expected.